Soon I hope to revisit the Ospreys on Anderson Street Cairns and add an interview mix to my scribbles. Many thanks to ABC’s Brendan Mounter who has kindly offered to set aside time to guide me through the art of the interview. The nesting Ospreys located here in the Cairns Ambulance grounds on Anderson Street, Cairns (Latitude – Longitude: -16.913457,145.750903) have maintained a continuity of using this nesting site for many years. I understand some ambulance staff have formed a close bond with the birds and have interesting stories to tell. One story, in particular, I found fascinating. I’ve already collated some still photos but coupled with an interview I’d also like to add some video footage. I consider this subject to be an ideal photo essay and hopefully with Brendan’s guidance and experience we can wrap up an interesting story.
Julie GuiteThey really are lovely, and definitely amusing when they drop dead fish on our cars parked underneath!
“They’re treasures”, said Brina Keating at the Cairns Ambulance Operations Centre in Anderson Street.
This story will be updated and expanded with new material…hopefully soon.
Often, I’ve expressed admiration for the engineering that makes up the innards of the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lens. Eighteen lens elements combine to produce a large image circle that permits a lens shift within these confines. Because of the large image circle produced a shift lens can move (shift) the image circle over the sensor plane to capture panoramas and at the same time remain parallel with a vertical plane. This negates the conventional requirement to tilt the lens resulting in converging verticals.
Eighteen lens elements combine to produce a large image circle
The construction and optical quality of this lens are superb and is without a doubt, my favourite lens. Of course, my favourite lens depends on the subject matter at hand. But in the case of documenting landscapes, urban environments and architecture; this is the tool…. toy I reach for. As an aspiring editorial photographer, the photo essay is pivotal to any documentation and if my subject can also accommodate a shift lens’ photos then I consider this photography to be the icing on the cake.
Further magic performed by a shift lens is the application of the Scheimpflug principle. On a side note, Theodor Scheimpflug of Austria is the person after whom this principle is named. But I was surprised to learn that Mr Scheimpflug himself disclaimed inventing this principle. It is over my head to venture into historical research, but suffice to say this principle is an amazing optical application that can shift the focus plane over the subject resulting in an extensive depth of field. In simplistic terms where the tilt of the planes: lens and sensor Planes (see Figure 2) intersect, everything along this plane of the intersection will be in focus. Basically, the focus plane is tilted along the subject plane. This application is usually applied to landscape photography where depth of field can extend to infinity along the ground without the need to stop the lens down … magic!
Figure 2
In compositional terms, strong foreground elements can be linked to the background as the depth of field extends to infinity.
As an aspiring editorial photographer, I consider myself a jack of all trades and master of none. But if I were to master one area of my photographic interest it would be to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the operation and application of this optic.
I believe this lens emulates the functionality of a view camera and being a manual focus lens, there’s much to learn so as to utilise its full shift/tilt potential. At this point, I should point out that the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lens is a compromise when compared to the functionality of a view camera as only the lens plane can be tilted. A view camera on the other and can tilt both the lens and sensor planes.
When using a Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lens forget snap-crackle-pop-auto-everything photography, this beast will slow you down to apply optical basics and manual focus. In other words, this is not an optic for photographers on trainee wheels or those accustomed to iPhone snaps. This lens requires deliberation, methodical application, a tripod and (preferably) live view…. I love it.
There are not many businesses that operate 7 Days: 9 am to 5 am…. and make no mistake, this ultra-glamorous exoskeleton is all business. Think about those operating hours: 9 AM to 5 AM; raking in cash at all crazy hours. The fact that it preys and profits on human vulnerabilities makes this business insidious. On the outside, it’s all flashing luminous lights designed to draw the gambler like moths to a flame. But the interns of this business machine are all algorisms run by computer programs designed to entice the gambler one step forward and then send him staggering two steps back. There’s no doubt the gambling industry pockets rent money, food money, money to pay bills, pension money, mortgage repayments, and money to cloth and feed children. For some (too many) gambling is destructive. I’ve seen young people place the equivalent of a week’s wage on a roulette table then loose it all in the blink of an eye. Too many simply don’t have the will to stop. There’s a crazy illogic to gambling that stimulates the mentality that if you have lost money you need to gamble more to win it back. Sadly, this mentality is all too prevalent. From my perspective, the entrepreneurs that rake in this money are the personification of greed. The hoteliers and clubs do supply little cards with phone numbers for problem gamblers to contact should they feel inclined to seek help. But make no mistake, if you lose your home, marriage and bank balance: it’s your problem; not theirs.
“The hoteliers and clubs are powerful lobbyists and the No. 1 jackpot junkies are state governments,” said Xenophon, adding that Australian politicians are “terrified” of the gambling industry. About one in six Australians who play regularly has a serious addiction and loses on average about $21,000 a year, according to government data. The social cost of gambling to the community is estimated to be at least $4.7 billion a year. Quote Source: – Sydney Morning Herald
Interestingly the media machine also loves the advertising dollar that flows from the pokies. When you have the media, state governments and problem gamblers all feeding from the same trough; powerful forces are lined up to resist regulation.
Stained-glass artists, Gerry Cummins and Jill Stehn spent six years designing and building the largest theme stained glass windows in the world depicting the creation according to the book of Genesis.
“Glass is the only medium that captures transmitted light, every other medium depends on light reflecting off the surface, so what you see in a painting or in a sculpture or in architecture is a second-hand image compared to the pure, joyous translucency of glass.”
Photography is rarely an end in itself; it is means by which one can document one’s passion. I enjoy documenting other people’s passion and creativity.
Yesterday I had a chance to try some shifty movements (shift lens) to capture an interior panorama at St Monica’s. The shift movements enabled me to include the reflection in the marble floor. This beautiful cathedral is a magnet for architectural photography. I can’t think of a more appropriate subject for an HDR application. Today HDR (high dynamic range) has lost the WOW! factor and is now a standard application for many landscape / architectural studies. But even so, I still get surprised at the dynamic range that can be captured. To capture the stained-glass feature and interior is only possible in HDR unless you want to employ a bank of studio lights and balance the output slightly under the EXP. required for the stained glass. No 1 this is cost prohibitive, No2 time consuming, and No 3 unnecessary unless you’re a colour temp pixel peeper. Anyway, I find most technical considerations are there to service our subjective judgements. In hindsight, I think I’d prefer to make the interior slighter darker and …. light the candles. I like cathedrals.
I think I’d go berserk with my camera in a place like the (still under construction started.
Whenever the word ‘Mangrove’ is Googled you are sure to be hit with accompanied phases like ‘vital costal eco-system’ or ‘haven for fisheries’. Yet it wasn’t long ago that mangrove habitat was regarded as nothing more than a mosquito infested swamps of little value. Many mangrove areas have been destroyed for landfill or used as garbage dumps. The mangrove habitat is still a mosquito infested swamp but my growing appreciation of its aesthetic qualities and as a complex eco-system has set me on the boardwalk of enlighten discovery. I find my photography is an impetus to learn more. At present my knowledge is superficial. But each time I visit the Mangroves I discover new information. I’m sure if one was to research this eco-system, over time, it would begin with the rhythm of the tides that act as clockwork for the many creatures that inhabit this beautiful complex eco-system.
I’ve only explored the ‘The Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk’ beginning at Latitude – Longitude: -16.883433,145.7611 the second track starts at the opposite side of the carpark from this point.
When time and family permit, I’d like to build up an essay and mix in some words. At the same time expand my understanding of this amazing environment.
Another story would be to find out how they built the Boardwalk as I couldn’t think of more difficult environment than working in knee deep mud, mosquitoes and tropical heat and I thought writing was hard work.
The image circle created by this optic is large: it must be to accommodate perspective and depth of field movements. This is my favourite lens for landscapes. Nine times out of ten this lens will be tripod mounted. I find when using this optic that snap-crackle-pop auto-everything photography goes out the window; being a manual focus lens it will also slow you down and bring you back to optical basics. Using this lens coupled with my camera’s live view feels like I’ve returned to my college days of using a view camera.
Although it doesn’t have the diversity of manipulating the sensor plane; scheimpflug principals can still be applied and with stunning results. I love this lens. My previous lens for landscape work was a Canon IF 17-40mm f/4 L USM Lens that proved to be a good workhorse but never could achieve the depth of field that I lusted for in landscapes. The engineering in the Canon TS-E 17 is superb which is why it burns a huge hole in your wallet. But once coveted and the laws of Scheimpflug take hold you don’t look back. My only gripe is that you must be extremely careful with this optic as it screams out to be scratched and damaged due to its large bulging front element. Also, no lens hood can be employed to help protect the lens and minimise lens flare.
This a superb optic that when stopped down displays minimal lens aberrations. Because of this, I favour this optic, despite the manual operation. I find the creative possibilities using this lens soon transform this tool into a toy that I play with long after ever other lens has gone home.
Access to Digital everything coupled with the internet has democratised the media; now virtually anyone can be their own editorial god. Today the media landscape is in a state of flux and a far cry from 1981 when ink and paper were still in the ascendancy and this media was the exclusive domain of the big boys in the publication game. This was a time when the now defunct film firms like ‘Kodak’ was a household name and CMYK print publication ruled the media. It was also a time when one had to go cap-in-hand to the big boys in the media for Print publication as this was the preferred way to take photography to the masses and it was the way that ‘A Day in the Life of Australia’ was propagated via a hardcover book.
Today photography has been reduced to pixels and every man and this dog can access a camera via a smartphone and we can mass-produce these tiny squares by the zillions. And of course, photography is no longer the domain of darkroom wizards labouring over a cauldron of heinous chemicals. Digital photography coupled with the internet has freed us from the shackles of print. Today we take for granted the ease of digital capture and propagation via social media. But I wonder how good our photography would be if we had only transparency film to shoot? In 1981 there was no digital feedback, photoshop, computers, mobile phones, the internet or social media. Considering the media landscape of 1981, the logistics of covering Australia and the print publication: ‘A Day in the Life of Australia’ was a remarkable achievement.
A ‘24Hour Slice of Cairns Life’ strove not only to capture a typical day in the life of our community we have also endeavoured to follow in the footsteps of those original ‘Day in the Life’ photojournalists who had gone before us and to build on what they had started. Although a chasm of time separates us from those that shot the inaugural ‘Day in the Life’ publications we share the same passion with those photographers for documenting life. It is because we share an affinity with those original photojournalists, that March 6 was no a random date; it was the anniversary day of the publication of ‘A Day in the Life of Australia’ shot 36 years ago. We felt it was time to continue the story and build on what the original ‘Day in the Life’ photographers had started. I’m proud of what we captured on our March 6 and at the same time, I take my hat off to those original snappers as the tools we have today had made it so much easier to emulate the original publication. But of course no day-in-the-Life project can be definitive; it never can or will be, but I believe we have captured a good historical overview of a typical day in the life of Cairns.
We were inspired by the original publication and Photographers like Glen O’Malley who was an original shooter for an ‘A Day in the Life of Australia’ and we were honoured to have him participate in our production.
“Glen…. mate; we have your latest digital images and hopefully this time around it will find its way into a 24-Hour-Slice-of-Cairns Life ”.
(Glen’s film was lost when shooting a ‘Day in the Life of Australia’ in 1981)
Time to continue the story …
Photographers
Brendan Mounter
Glen O’Malley
Ian Stone
Kerry Trapnell
Maria Nguyen
Mike Watt
Paul Curtis
Paul Dymond
Professor Glenn Porter
Steven Nowakowski
Stuart Carr
Tim Warnock
The above heading may sound pretentious and even a little naive coming from this molecule of a blog floating on a tumultuous ocean of words and pixels. Nevertheless, I’d like to wrap my brain around where I’m going. Like many, I find that when I write, it helps clarify my thinking.
I guess this is one of those introspective moments that every writer journeys too at one time or another. If you’re a writer, these moments are inevitable. This is also an occupational hazard that I hope to avoid in the coming 17. Being introverted can be a little creepy at times, so I like to counter this by following my camera lens outwards to view an amazing world. This is one of the reasons why I like photography as it takes me away from myself.
I recall my press days and reminisce that I would love to shoot assigned (paid) editorial work again (hint to editors) as I believe I still have the ability and drive to produce professional content. One major hurdle to this aspiration is the current state of the media. Because of this, I may have to accept that (maybe) my press days are truly over. But this doesn’t mean my passion for mixing words and pixels together has abated.
Is this negativity or realism?, I’m not sure. But I’ll leave this debate for another time as I’ve still have lots of photographic missions rattling around in my head that I hope to accomplish.
The point is I want to become both a good photographer and writer, if only to serve my passion to mix words and pictures together.
Photography by Mike Watt (C)
Ironically, it’s these limitations that I infer that also produce an advantage when it comes to my aspirations. Not connected to the media means editorial freedom. It is this freedom that enables me to break from the shackles of assigned mediocrity. However I don’t want to wander down this retrospective path of negativity. Suffice to say, it hurt and now I’m free.
Even though the current state of the media has slammed the door on my aspirations, the media still captivates my interest. There’s no denying that the media is a fascinating entity that has been prodded and probed by far greater minds than mine. It is enlightening to read these online wordsmiths who have collectively produced a thundering waterfall of words on where the media is going. I’ve read some of these well-written essays and they all ring alarm bells.
This is not surprising given that today’s media has begun to sail into unchartered waters and icebergs of tribulation await. This is also a risky time for traditional media puttering along on reduced advertising revenue as it may not have the power to change course. Many media people watch in trepidation as the once ‘Titanic’ power of newspapers begin to sink into the abyss. As I scribble there are countless forlorn journalists, photographers, editors and think tanks rubbing their collective crystal balls trying to foresee where life jackets may be found. Presently, there’s still a few newspaper lifeboats floating around on this digital ocean and I admire their tenacity to stay afloat. But I believe the time will come when they too will go under; torpedoed by the production cost of printing and distribution. This cost is also commercially illogical when you consider just about every man, kid and his dog has access to the WWW via a smartphone etc.
And it is this access that carries this ‘Titanic’ analogy to the logical obvious: the NET gobbles up all things digital, including everything the media can throw at it. The point is that advertisers too can access this rich digital canvas, so why pay top dollar to advertise in newsprint and mags when the WWW is freely available. Although this process of migration to the NET has been ongoing for some time now, it will only accelerate as the multimedia dynamic of the NET hooks into everything. And you don’t need to be an Einstein to work out that this is having a huge impact on digital content producers, such as myself …. poor me, but thankfully there’s a flip side to this coin, thank god!.
A new direction will need to be cultivated. This doesn’t mean producing a regurgitated content of media released triviality to fill holes in between ads so as to appeal warm and cuddly to everybody. This will only accelerate newspaper decline and produce bullshit that you must wade through to find the rarity of well-researched journalism.
Sink or swim, …. nay I say, SURF!
As there’s never been a better time to snap and scribble well-researched journalism. We have tools now that would have been considered fantasy to our primitive media ancestors. And the NET…. have I mentioned the NET; what a wondrous multimedia canvas on which to throw words and pixels. Today anyone with a WWW connection can be their own editorial god. The trick now is to attract eyeballs as everybody is trying to claw their way to the surface to get noticed; everybody! … including little ole me.
However, I think we have lost something looking through our commercially tinted glasses. As much as I’d love to get paid for producing words and pixels again I think it is edifying to focus on the wonderful world that lies beyond this computer monitor.
Despite all the gloom of a sinking Titanic media, I still believe it’s a wondrous world out there and a great time to be a photojournalist if you don’t think in terms of commercialising the crap out of everything. If commercialism is your thing; look out for icebergs and prepare to fight for life jackets. Otherwise, do what you love doing because in the end, being a photojournalist is not what you do; it’s what you are.
It all started when some hairy caveman first decided to balance a stone. I imagine it would have been a clumsy effort at first, lacking any sense of finesse. Today though this rock balancing activity has been elevated to a meditative art form propagated by proponents such as Michael Grab who I understand initially coined the phrase ‘Gravity Glue’ to describe his stone balancing artwork. This phase is apt as his stones balancing defies logic as one would think that some sort of adhesive must be used. What is different in Michael’s art is that his stones balance on points rather than on a broad surface of the rock face.
When I was here last only a few gravity-glue stones were precariously balancing. Although these stones don’t have the same vertical gravity point defiance as does Michael’s artwork they are instead a prolific attempt to emulate his finesse.
Stone Balance Location Latitude – Longitude: -16.69405,145.597817
At the time when I first saw the beginnings of this rock stacking, I thought their survival would be short-lived. But these stacked stones have decided to breed and now there’ve everywhere along this stretch of Cairns coastline …. and still multiplying. They’ve multiplied to the point where they now command a stopover for tourists with selfie sticks and the balancing stones are also the magnet for gravity glue artists who wish to help propagate the species.
‘Gravity is the only glue that holds these structures in equilibrium’. Artist Michael Grab
While taking these photos, Tassie (Tasmania) holidaymakers: Joshua Griggs and his girlfriend Sam pulled over to check out this gravity stuff. I watched as this couple added yet another small balancing stone to this collection before returning to their car and to continue their FNQ holiday. No doubt they’ll take back the rock art gospel to Tassie. It’s hard to resist not to add another stone to this wonderful collection of rock art. Gravity-glue gurus and their disciples are spreading the message and I expect one day soon someone in Tassie will also gravity-glue a stone to begin the process anew.
The image circle created by this optic is large: it must be to accommodate perspective and depth of field movements. This is my favourite lens for landscapes. Nine times out of ten this lens will be tripod mounted. I find when using this optic that snap-crackle-pop auto-everything photography goes out the window; being a manual focus lens it will also slow you down and bring you back to optical basics. Using this lens coupled with my camera’s live view feels like I’ve returned to my college days of using a view camera.
Although it doesn’t have the diversity of manipulating the sensor plane; scheimpflug principals can still be applied and with stunning results. I love this lens. My previous lens for landscape work was a Canon IF 17-40mm f/4 L USM Lens that proved to be a good workhorse but never could achieve the depth of field that I lusted for in landscapes. The engineering in the Canon TS-E 17 is superb which is why it burns a huge hole in your wallet. But once coveted and the laws of Scheimpflug take hold you don’t look back. My only gripe is that you must be extremely careful with this optic as it screams out to be scratched and damaged due to its large bulging front element. Also, no lens hood can be employed to help protect the lens and minimise lens flare.
When I was here last only a few gravity-glue stones were precariously balancing. Although these stones don’t have the same vertical gravity point defiance as does Michael’s artwork they are instead a prolific attempt to emulate his finesse.
Stone Balance Location Latitude – Longitude: -16.69405,145.597817
Mike Watt Media 